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The most affordable key comic book?
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521 posts in this topic

For me, the most affordable golden age keys (first appearances of characters most people know) would be:

For DC, More Fun #101. First appearance of Superboy. Still under $5k for a nice mid grade copy.

For Marvel, Marvel Mystery #13. First appearance of the Vision. Also under $5k for a decent looking copy.

 

For silver age, as has been mentioned earlier, Strange Tales #101. It's not a first appearance, but so much cheaper than any other circle 12c Marvel start to a superhero series.

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15 hours ago, Von Cichlid said:

I think "affordable" means mostly that the book hasn't exploded yet or reached its full potential.  It also means price relative to other keys in the era.  For example, Daredevil 1 is more expensive than NM 98, but Daredevil 1 would be considered an affordable key while people would probably have many other copper options in mind before putting NM 98 in that category.   

Agreed. Which is why showcase 22 is lumped in.   Honestly,  that is probably more undervalued then dd1 because the new tv showand movies haven't materialized

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On 2/19/2020 at 12:14 PM, BaronSamedi said:

What is affordable?

Amazing Spider-man 252 for Bronze

I still find that book rather pricey for what it is, though I find the prices people ask for the other two black costume comics (like marvel team up) to be ridiculous. They also have the notion of "tie" for first black costume (you see that on e-bay listings), but that's false since 252 came out a week earlier. Just not a huge fan of those keys and while they are affordable, I don't see them as worth so much more in the future.

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My picks for most "affordable" key from each era:

Golden Age: Action Comics #47 (first Lex Luthor cover)

Atomic Age: Star Spangled Comics #122 (first Dr. Thirteen)

Silver Age: Adventures Comics #260 (first SA Aquaman/Arthur Curry)

Bronze Age: Shazam #28 (second Black Adam)

Copper Age: Marvel Comics Presents #72: (first Wolverine/Weapon X origin)

Modern Age: A-Next #7 (first Hope Pym)

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Daredevil 7 1st Red Costume .. all this talk of DD1... it's his first appearance as we know him.. red, billy clubs.. logo... etc on par w FF3, Hulk 2

Sub Mariner 19 1st Sting Ray... if a Namor movie is made supporting characters will be needed and I can see a jump like Man Ape to Avengers 62

Justice League of America 75 1st Black Canary (I don't own a copy, I know this is a risk 4 me) big player in JLA and can snag a sweetie for under $100

Green Lantern 76 SEVERELY UNDERVALUED... MEGA KEY that has stood test of time... due to lack of movie presence it's low.. but I can see 3x value if a movie is made

DC Comics Presents 26 1st New Teen Titans (Cyborg, Starfire, Raven).. If this comic was silver age it would be worth tenfold... Cyborg is a JL member and has a solo film next

Amazing Spider-Man 194 1st Black Cat.... The main love interest of Spidey other than MJ = BIG DEAL

Suicide Squad 23 1st Oracle... cheap $15/20 ... big player of Birds of Prey and Nightwing love interest

New Teen Titans 1 ... way undervalued

New Teen Titans 23 1st Blackfire & Vigilante... cheap $1-5 book.. female against to Starfire and TT.. could be a big deal

New Teen Titans 26 1st Terra... again if a movie is made expect her and Deathstroke to be a part of Judas Contract storyline (the best TT storyline) .. super cheap book btw

New Teen Titans 44 1st Nightwing... if a TT movie is made I expect a jump as he and Starfire will be co leaders

Daredevil 232 1st Nuke.. only $15 on a good day... hes a filler thug... imagine if Punisher 2004 came out in 2024.. what would ppl pay for the first Russian?

Green Lantern 25 vol 3 ... 1st Atrocitus.. Expect a Sinestro Corps/Blackest Night/Final Crisis GL movie

Justice League New 52 30 & 31 GL 20 1st Jessica Cruz... again wait for a GL movie prices will jump like they did for GL 48 kyle rayner

Punisher MAX 31 1st Barracuda.. maybe not cheap for what it is but this villain has to appear somewhere maybe in a series.. he's coming back to comics

Batman 635 1st Red Hood... uhm... how is this not super expensive... Red Hood is a BIG Player in the DCU

Razor Annual 1 1st Shi... guys are crazy for women .. guys are crazy for anime .. put two together...

Dark Horse Presents 10 1st Mask. this book will explode.. guaranteed.. it's a matter of when not if for a movie/show to happen

Other cheap $15-30 keys Witchbalde 1, Flash 92 (Impulse), X-Factor 24 (Archangel), Superman Adventures 5 (Livewire) , Darth Vader 3 (Dr Aphra)

Edited by littledoom
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On 3/27/2020 at 6:38 AM, jjonahjameson11 said:

The same can be said for The Pink Panther, a much longer run than Underdog.

Here’s a #1 coming up in a heritage auction and it looks like quite a few others from the set run:

https://comics.ha.com/itm/bronze-age-1970-1979-/underdog-1-gold-key-1975-cgc-nm-94-off-white-to-white-pages/p/122016-113010.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

 

Edited by jefecabra
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i say spawn 1.  for a number 1 issue in a 300 plus issue series.... if you categorize by value say 500 and under.   If they do redo of the movie, i hope it doesnt suck.  Was hoping my rai 0 would get a bump from bloodshot movie  but not looking good on that

Edited by god503
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On 1/22/2019 at 4:00 PM, Artboy99 said:

the most affordable key is the one you find at a comic store/ comic convention in the dollar box.

Example:

I missed my copy of Hulk 271 in my dollar box after the Raccoon got popular.

Hulk fights Santa Clause in one issue, and Santa appears in numerous movies...I don't get it, that book should be a key!lol

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On 4/6/2020 at 12:13 PM, god503 said:

i say spawn 1.  for a number 1 issue in a 300 plus issue series.... if you categorize by value say 500 and under.   If they do redo of the movie, i hope it doesnt suck.  Was hoping my rai 0 would get a bump from bloodshot movie  but not looking good on that

Sadly the value of Rai 0 is plummeting.

I'm starting to think the best time to move off a movie spec book is about 1-2 months after the announcement.

The closer you get to the movie, the more the value of the book begins to settle

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